Update on CN Activities: 1/06/06-1/31/06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KABUL 000494 SIPDIS Sensitive but Unclassified DEPARTMENT FOR INL/FO AND SA/FO AMB QUINN NSC FOR AHARRIMAN/KAMEND E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV PTER KCRM AF SUBJECT: Update on CN Activities: 1/06/06-1/31/06 ¶1. Summary: The eradication phase of the Counter Narcotics Public Information (CNPI) campaign is underway. CNPI messages are focusing on alternative livelihoods programs (AL) and rule of law in the context of eradication. AL programs report success in Nangarhar Province. PEP teams have been deployed to all seven provinces and are conducting activities ranging from public information to monitoring and verifying governor-led eradication (GLE) efforts. DEA continues to mentor the National Interdiction Unit (NIU) and two six member FAST teams arrived on January 28 to support training and law enforcement efforts. DOJ is working to develop standardized procedures for obtaining search warrants, bank and other records, develop regulations for implementation of the new drug law and improve the transfer of cases to the Vertical Prosecution Task Force (VPTF). Planning for GLE is underway. Special attention (in the form of a task force) is being paid to Helmand Province which reports opium cultivation is double that of last year. INLs six Huey II helicopters arrived in country on January ¶27. INL aims to have the helicopters ready to support reconnaissance and eradication missions by early February. End Summary. Public Information -------------- ¶2. (U) Phase three of the CN Public Information campaign is incorporating eradication into PI messages. Print messaging (stickers, posters, banners and billboards) have been disseminated to the seven Poppy Elimination Program (PEP) provinces and radio spots are airing nation-wide. This phase will also introduce a pilot phase for training community stakeholders in CN messaging. CNPIs implementing partner, Sayara Communications, will collaborate with PEP media officers and NGOs to train schoolteachers in Nangarhar on the CN message. This program will serve as a model for future CN-related community-based public information programs. 3.(U) Sayara will also produce one national radio documentary on Alternative Livelihoods and separate province-specific, radio documentaries on AL, each one highlighting specific achievements in rural development. Rule of law documentaries that discuss s the specifics of the new CN law will air in a similar fashion. ¶4. (U) Earned media opportunities (those media opportunities created by the Embassy PI staff) are an important part of this phase of the campaign. Operational details are being worked out with INL and the British Embassy Drugs Team (BEDT) to bring groups of reporters on eradication missions with the AEF. Members of the press will be briefed on the ethics of eradication before each mission (i.e. they will be briefed on the sophistication and criteria used in choosing fields which will be eradicated). Press events in Kabul, such as a presidential ceremony to commemorate the new CN law and courts system, are also planned. Each of these events will illustrate the Government of Afghanistans commitment and resolve to the elimination of poppy cultivation and production, as was demonstrated on January 24, at the CN governors conference where President Karzai proclaimed, We have to root out opium or opium will root us out. PEP Update date -------------- ¶5. (U) International Advisors have been deployed to three provinces: Nangarhar, Kandahar and Balkh. Afghan staffing for PEP is complete and all personnel should be in place by mid-February. Members from the PEP teams have participated in recent public information and monitoring and verification trainings. PEP teams have begun operations in Kandahar, Balkh, Helmand, Farah and Nangarhar provinces and have conducted a variety of activities ranging from monitoring eradication campaigns (Kandahar, Nangarhar), collecting information about Alternative Livelihoods projects (Balkh, Farah) and conducting public information awareness projects (Nangarhar). ¶6. (U) The deployed International Advisors are working with the PEP teams in their respective provinces and have met with the governors in each province to discuss plans for governor-led eradication (GLE). ¶7. (U) Recruitment of international advisors continues. Sites for the permanent PEP offices have been identified in six provinces. The DynCorp Deputy Program Manager Mike ODonovan and PEP Program Manager Dr. M. Nabi Hussaini will travel to Badakshan on February 5 to identify a workable site. PEP teams are operating out of temporary office space and construction of the PEP offices has yet to commence. The Embassy is working with DynCorp to identify timelines as to when the permanent offices will be ready. ¶8. (SBU) To date, DynCorps support of the PEP program has been unsatisfactory. The Embassy continues to work with DynCorp to resolve the logistical/operational issues of the program (including the hiring of international advisors, the refurbishment and/or construction of office space, security, communications and vehicle support). Alternative Livelihoods -------------- ¶9. (U) Congressional Representatives Ros-Lehtinen, Platts, Lynch and Gerlach traveled to Nangarhar on January 24 to gain a better understanding of USAIDs Alternative Livelihoods Program (ALP) in this is Province. This program has provided 2.9 million days of wage labor in Nangarhar Province that has resulted in important rural infrastructure improvement such as canals, roads, and flood retention walls. During this visit, the Representatives met with elders of Achin District of Nangarhar. The western part of Achin District did not initially have an ALP due to the high levels of poppy planting in 2004 and 2005 and their strong resistance to eradication. (Note: Achin District strongly resisted the Province-wide reduction in poppy production last year and has until now been very distrustful of outside assistance. End Note). ¶10. (U) Achin elders explained, to the delegation, that they had decided not to plant poppy this year because they too wanted to benefit from the cash for work activities ongoing in surrounding districts. In particular, they wanted USAID to bring cash for work to their district to build a flood retention wall, important to protect their farms against the raging ng floods that routinely occur in the spring. USAID agreed to begin cash for work in the western part of the district after field staff had verified an approximate 70 percent reduction in poppy planting in 2006, supported by a letter of declaration from the elders stating their intention to boycott anyone who planted poppy and to eradicate any poppy they find. There were several factors that led to the reduction of poppy planting in 2006 western Achin, including strong messages from the Governor, the destruction of heroin labs, and ALP. Law Enforcement -------------- ¶11. (U) The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues its mentoring of the National Interdiction Unit (NIU) of the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan. Completion of the NIU Base Camp has slipped from April 2006 to September due to weather- related problems. In support of ongoing operational law enforcement and training efforts, two new six member FAST teams arrived in country on January 28. Justice Reform -------------- - ¶12. (U) DOJ representatives attended a recent Justice Coordination group meeting to develop standardized procedures for obtaining search warrants, bank and other records, to improve the transfer of cases to the Vertical Prosecution Task Force (VPTF) and to develop regulations for implementation of the new drug law. ¶13. (U) DOJ is in the process of developing a training program for the VPTF and the CNPA and at the behest of the Afghan Attorney General has agreed to train prosecutors on narcotics issues beginning in March. ¶14. (U) DOJ is working with the various Afghan ministries to develop a series of events that will publicize the new CN law and the Central Narcotics Court. Eradication -------------- ¶15. (U) GLE will occur throughout much of the cultivation season and not just during a one-month period as previously planned. The US and UK eradication specialists are working with the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the various governors to develop operational plans for each province. ¶16. (SBU) This years planning effort is better than previous years because the US and UK eradication specialists are working more closely together and have more willing and capable partners in the MOI and the MCN. The close cooperation between the US and UK teams has been beneficial. The Embassy has worked with the UK to combine funds to fill the gaps that each program operating alone could not fill. In effect the US/UK has $1.3M to dedicate to eradication efforts and the Embassy feels confident it can begin and sustain eradication operations not only in the PEP provinces but also in other non-PEP provinces where governors have made the commitment to eradicate. Post will seek additional eradication funds through advice of allotment requests as needed and determined through implementation of GLE. ¶17. (U) On January 25, representatives from each of the PEP Provinces met in Kabul to discuss operational plans for GLE (See Reftel). As a follow on to this his discussion, the Deputy Governor of Helmand Province informed Deputy Minister of Interior (MOI) General Daud that poppy planting in Helmand Province is likely more than double last years cultivation (claims which have been substantiated by UNODC in informal conversations with Embassy Kabuls CNTF Director Doug Wankel). Citing the need to manage the drastic increase in planting in Helmand, Daud and Wankel called for the establishment of the Helmand Eradication Planning Task Force. The first meeting of the Task Force was held on January 26. Helmands Governor Engineer Daoud and key leaders from the province participated in the meeting, as did members of the Afghan Ministries of Interior, CN, Defense and Security and the international community, including the UK Embassy, UNODC and CFC-A. Governor Daoud said that there is an estimated 77,375 hectares of opium under cultivation in Helmand Province. He said that he supports GLE and said that opium fields on GOA land nd and those fields being cultivated by GOA officials would be among the first destroyed in Helmand. The Governor believes taking such action will show impartiality and will legitimize all subsequent eradication efforts in the province. The Governor also asked for additional AL support, especially cash for work programs. The Helmand and Afghanistan Eradication Planning Task Force will meet twice a week starting on February 2 to develop viable operational plans to support GLE in Helmand and other provinces in Afghanistan. Air Assets -------------- ¶18. (U) Six UH-1HP (Huey II) helicopters arrived in country on January 27. The aircraft are in the process of being reassembled and test-flown. Two aircraft should be flyable (best case) by the first week of February, when pilots will conduct local area orientations, training and mission readiness operations. The Air Wing is working to have four helicopters flyable in early February. ¶19. (U) The INL Air Wing has been granted access to o and has occupied a portion of a fixed hangar at Kandahar airfield and has readied the allotted space to temporarily accommodate the aircraft. The hangar will serve as a long-term temporary facility for the aircraft while the permanent facilities are being constructed. Initial coordination between the INL pilots, the Kandahar team leadership and the Afghan Eradication Force (AEF) has occurred. Initial support objectives and first targets have been identified. The first reconnaissance missions (and possibly the first support missions) are likely within the first half of the month of February. So far, DynCorp has 45 aircrew personnel in country to support the helicopter missions. A total of 86 DynCorp personnel will be based in Kandahar. ¶20. (U) Planning continues for our occupation of real estate on Kabul International Airport (KIA) for basing of the four remaining aircraft and support package/personnel. On January 31, the Charge d Affaires and the Afghan Minister of Transportation signed an MOU ceding 110 acres at KIA to INL for the duration of the Aviation Support project. NORLAND